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Samara - Played by Mozhan Marnò

HBO

What kind of woman is Samara?

Mozhan Marnò

She's a strong-willed and proud Lebanese woman. She's quite stubborn in her ideas.

HBO

Why does she enlist Ray's services?

Mozhan Marnò

She probably doesn't want to deal with the complications of being with a real man.

HBO

Why is she hung up on Ray's Israeli neighbor?

Mozhan Marnò

The Israeli-Arab conflict is a pressing matter for everyone who comes from the region. It really gets under her skin that Ray could be having sex with an Israeli woman at the same time he's having sex with her.

HBO

Is she trying to work something out by making Ray take a side?

Mozhan Marnò

I don't think so. She's sure about what she feels. It's just such a hot-button issue for her that it's almost like a nerve-ending. If someone just says the words "Israel" and "hummus" in the same sentence, she snaps.

HBO

Why can't she just enjoy the sex for what it is?

Mozhan Marnò

Because she's a woman. She doesn't turn off her brain when she has sex with people, even prostitutes.

HBO

How did you feel about taking on a politically-charged role in a show that doesn't usually tackle politics?

Mozhan Marnò

I had no qualms about it since the writing was so fabulous, so funny and so fair. They placed this hot-button issue in the context of something so ridiculous -- "Whose hummus do you like better?" It was super smart.

HBO

There's been a contest between Lebanese and Israeli hummus-makers to create the largest dish of hummus as recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records. How central is hummus to the broader Middle Eastern conflict?

Mozhan Marnò

That was hysterical. I think it just shows that anything can be a source for arguing. Whether it's couscous, hummus or whatever, Middle-Easterners love to argue and everything is up for dispute.

THINK FAST:

The best food comes from ______: Iran. Lamb eggplant stew, in particular.

Favorite Spread: Hummus

I can't be with anyone who ______: Doesn't read books.

Worst ending to a date: A guy once told me he couldn't pay for dinner because he was saving up for a bike trip to Europe.